According to the report, Intel has invested heavily in an effort to get its hardware into more smartphones and tablets.

Two leading industry analysts said that worldwide sales slumped by as much as 6.4 percent last quarter.

Intel's chief executive Paul Otellini, delivering his final full year results before taking early retirement, said the firm had performed 'largely as expected' in a 'challenging environment', the report said.

The company's net income fell 27 percent compared to the same three months in 2011, to 2.47 billion dollars, on revenues that were down three per cent to 13.5 billion dollars.